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July 05, 2005

Something of the Somethings

Saw two very different movies this weekend, with similar titles...

March of the Penguins
Loved it. This is an amazing film. You'll be amazed by the story of how Emperor penguins mate -- marching miles and miles across the ice to the same place every year, hooking up with exactly one penguin of the opposite sex, producing exactly one egg, which the dad then incubates, while the mom marches miles and miles to get food, returning to feed the baby while the dad marches miles and miles to save himself from starvation.

You will also be amazed by the camera shots. Unbelievable close-ups of penguins, including shots of the transfer of the egg from female to male, the hatching of the egg, the baby's first swim, etc. Even more amazing are the beautiful shots of Antarctica as backdrop.

If the movie has one flaw, and I only mention it because it lets me use what is probably the longest word I will ever use, it is overanthropomorphification. (26 letters!!!) The filmmakers go overboard inferring the emotions that these penguins are feeling. The "lovemaking" scene is ludicrous and I couldn't help wondering, if these penguins are so close to humans in their deep emotional involvement, how one adult penguin could simply watch while someone else's baby was eaten by a predatory bird. (The narration didn't mention it.) Small flaw -- great movie.

War of the Worlds
Hated it. Spielberg got away with a bad story in Jurassic Park since the special effects were so mind-blowing. The effects aren't good enough here and the story is even worse. If you can even call it a story. Tom Cruise leaves work, has two kids dropped off, then is attacked by aliens and spends the next hour and a half trying to survive. It doesn't lead up to anything, doesn't build the tension toward any climax. In fact, the ending (like many small scenes) is ridiculous and arbitrary. Cruise is fine and Dakota Fanning is very good for her age, but they don't have that much to do besides act scared. There are a couple good, chilling scenes, but with no emotional depth and no setup and no explanation of anything that happens, there's nothing to make anyone care at all.

Posted by JoshHornik at July 5, 2005 06:06 PM

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July 05, 2005

Something of the Somethings

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